Black Hawk Down look?
 

How can you achieve the BHD look?
Camera settings? Software? Filters?

well Black Hawk has several different "looks" depending upon the location, etc. As far as DV goes, i think its easier to create this style of imagery in post. Im not sure if its a good practice, but it works for me...i've fallen in to the habit of shooting manual with the camera, just worrying about the focus, depth of field, light levels etc....coloring i do purely in the edit bay.

This also ensures that you wont be screwing up any footage, as you have the standard DV image still on tape, and you can make as many different versions of a scene as you want.

How to emulate those looks exactly? well the recipe will differ depending upon the source imagery so there is no way to give any hard information here. My only advice would be to get the dvd, pause it on a frame you like, and just soak up the image, examine every detail...figure out the black level, how much saturation it has, if its tinted or shifted towards a certain color, etc.

A word of caution though, only change the look of a shot if it adds something to how the shot is perceived, or if it adds to the content or storyline. For example the BHD look in most cases is not appropriate for a romantic movie ;)

Thanks!
I understand more about the post stuff than the actual shooting.
So I had planned on your advice and shoot as clean as possible and paying attention to what you said (focus, etc.)
I am basically going to be a walking movie studio when my laptop gets here in late August.
I just got my Canon XL1s Friday, Boris RED, Avid 3.0 powerpack with the 3.5 upgrade, the laptop is a Alienware Area 51m so I can edit at *ahem* work *ahem* hehehe!
I want to do my first short all by myself, no actors but me, no anybody but me.
To me it makes sense that if I can't do it by myself to start why should I get anyone else involved and sell the whole lot.

Pick up a copy of Cinefex magazine, issue #89, it's all about the Black Hawk Down look. Explains everything in detail.

I have the issue buried somewhere, but i seem to recall it saying that Idziak creates his own custom grad filters for a lot of the shots. Which accounts for a lot of the stylization of the film. Now that's a skill i'd like to learn!

I've just installed Avid 3.5 today and started playing with the tutorial. I got a heavy solid red eyeball shot in the tutorial and messed with the color correction tools and got a near BHD look with it!
What a powerful tool!!!!!
It took a few minutes to get the controls down but once I had them it was easy!

If you watch the "extras" at the end of the DVD (BHD) they will walk you through how they shot most the scenes. The most interesting effect in my opinion was shot using a 45 degree shutter (I believe that was the angle they said???) which gave that slightly choppy effect which looks soooo cool!

too bad the XL1s doesnt have a button for that....

Chris

Chris, you can achieve the same effect with a very fast "shutter speed" on a video camera. Film camera shutters are simply rotating discs, with a "pie peice" cut out of them at varying angles to expose the image. A 45 degree shutter simply means that the image is exposed for 12.5% of the shutters rotation.

Casey, any particulars or just crank it up as fast as she will go? I guess what I am trying to say is, do you have to be panning or zoomed in, frame movie mode, etc?

I am gonna have to go try this now!

just experiment to taste...i doubt you'd need to crank it as high as it'll go. no particulars or formulas...although i must say the effect works best on dirt-rocketing explosions =D but unless you're a pyrotechnics expert i wouldn't advise trying to film or make those.

i would personally use frame mode, other than that just try some different types of footage. obviously you need a good deal of motion in the shot to make the fast shutter speed apparent.

Great! thanks for the info, now I just need to find something to try it out on.

A lot of the same motion effects used in Black Hawk Down can also be seen in Gladiator's battle scenes. The big one at the beginning (especially shots without Russel Crowe in them -- the troops in the mud, etc) and the coliseum match with the tigers.

I think it works well with anything that's supposed to feel chaotic and hectic. Maybe even in a scene like the aftermath of a car accident. That wandering around, trying to get your bearings kinda feeling could be heightened pretty well with that. Though I've probably got car accident's on my mind because I just got in one a couple hours ago. (Don't worry, everyone's fine).

Anyway, just a thought.

-Shawn

> The most interesting effect in my opinion was shot using a 45 >degree shutter (I believe that was the angle they said???) >which gave that slightly choppy effect which looks soooo cool!
>too bad the XL1s doesnt have a button for that....

most film camera's have a 180 degree shutter =1/48 shutter speed .
90 degree shutter =1/100 shutter speed
45 degreeshutter = 1/200

you might try using around 1/200 or 1/250th shutter speed on the XL

I will definitely give that a try! I just need to find something with that has an interesting motion to it... to capture the effect!

Chris

<<<-- Originally posted by blugill69 : Thanks!
I understand more about the post stuff than the actual shooting.
So I had planned on your advice and shoot as clean as possible and paying attention to what you said (focus, etc.)
I am basically going to be a walking movie studio when my laptop gets here in late August.
I just got my Canon XL1s Friday, Boris RED, Avid 3.0 powerpack with the 3.5 upgrade, the laptop is a Alienware Area 51m so I can edit at *ahem* work *ahem* hehehe!
I want to do my first short all by myself, no actors but me, no anybody but me.
To me it makes sense that if I can't do it by myself to start why should I get anyone else involved and sell the whole lot. -->>>

Have you had a chance to work with Boris Red yet? I am looking for feedback on this product. It seems to be one heck of a package.

Chris: For footage to play around with, anything fast, like the dirt explosions that were mentioned, would look good. However, it'd be more safe to play around with water splashes.

I have sat on my front porch and recorded rain splashes hitting wood, and was pleased with the results. As far as settings(using a GL2, by the way): Frame Mode, 1/300 shutter, almost full telephoto on the zoom

you know, since then i have had some fun with very fast shutter speeds (water fountains are fun too). I have gotten some nice results in frame mode, its what i shoot everything in now... I have not shot anyting in normal "interlaced" mode in about a year.

I hear ya. I got my camera a couple months back and haven't shot anything interlaced yet. I hear it isn't true progressive (supposedly does an interpolation type process on the fly, according to a technical article I read), but when you zoom in and examine each pixel to see that it isn't just duplicating fields, but instead giving distinct individual lines, I don't know what to call it, but I like it.

Re: Black Hawk Down look?
 

<<<-- Originally posted by blugill69 : How can you achieve the BHD look?
Camera settings? Software? Filters? -->>>

A litle late, I know:

"Filmic Warm
Takes the filmic look and warms the temperature up a bit to make the image feel more friendly and vibrant. "

Adobe has a plug-in that looks like it can make some nice imagery.

<<<-- Originally posted by Shawn McBee : I think it works well with anything that's supposed to feel chaotic and hectic. Maybe even in a scene like the aftermath of a car accident. That wandering around, trying to get your bearings kinda feeling could be heightened pretty well with that. -->>>

Intersesting. I can see that effect working very well in that situation.

<<<-- Originally posted by Chris Ferrer : If you watch the "extras" at the end of the DVD (BHD) they will walk you through how they shot most the scenes. The most interesting effect in my opinion was shot using a 45 degree shutter (I believe that was the angle they said???) which gave that slightly choppy effect which looks soooo cool!

too bad the XL1s doesnt have a button for that....

Chris -->>>

Chris

Are you referring to the SPECIAL EDITION ? I have the originally released BHD, but have been debating on getting the SPECIAL EDITION for the "film school in a box" purpose. Is it worth it?